Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1994 June/Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1994 Edition - May 1983 - June 1994 - Wayzata Technologies (5045) (1994).iso/mac/Text/Mac Text/1992/nb920703

Text File | 1992-07-03 | 38KB | 887 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00001)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 07/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

July's Boardwatch Magazine has a preview of the major Online
Networking Exposition convention which it is sponsoring in Denver
from August 13 through the 16th.

Computer Reseller News dated June 22 explores the question of
just how low PC prices can go and comes packaged with a 10th
Anniversary supplement that carries a profile of the most
influential people in the PC industry.

Federal Computer Week for June 29 reports that the GAO is
investigating the Department of Defense's reuse of software and
$1 billion expenditure on software engineering tools.

PC Magazine dated July is the first issue using the new format
with its expanded table of contents, easier-to-read charts, and
other changes. This issue's main focus is a look at how to select
the "perfect PC" for beginners, file server duty, or top Windows
performance.

July's Byte looks at Apple's Newton, which the magazine says
"leads a new wave of Personal Digital Assistants."

(John McCormick/19920703)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00002)

Mentor Graphics Reports Disappointing 2Q 07/03/92
WILSONVILLE, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Mentor Graphics has
reported that it will record a loss for the second quarter, and said
the outlook for the third quarter is also gloomy.

Mentor's first quarter was slightly better, with the company
reporting earnings per share of $0.03 on revenues of $100 million.
For the second quarter, Mentor estimates losses between 10 and 15
cents per share on revenues in the $88 to $90 million range.

"We expressed concern at the beginning of the quarter over Japan's
weakening economy," said Thomas Bruggere, Mentor Graphics chairman
and CEO. Bruggere said the poor Japanese order performance combined
with product transition issues accounted for the disappointing results.
"These factors will likely affect us in the third quarter as well,"
he said. Bruggere said the company has a strong cash position, and
is capable of weathering "this transitional period."

In August 1991 Mentor laid off about 15 percent of its workforce,
amounting to 435 jobs. It reported a $63 million loss on sales of
$400.1 million last year.

In February this year Newsbytes reported that the company was
optimistic about 1992, with one analyst estimating that the company
would earn $0.45 per share for 1992. The following month Newsbytes
reported that Mentor Graphics had signed a deal with Matsushita
Electric Industrial Corporation for what the company described as
"tens of millions of dollars worth of software" to design
Matsushita's electronic components. At the time one analyst said
"their (Mentor's) problems are over."

Asked by Newsbytes about the poor results after its optimistic
outlook and the multimillion dollar sale to Matsushita, Mentor
Graphics Treasury Manager Luke Donnelly said "what's not really
understood is that those huge deals are usually over a period of
years, so the incremental revenue created is probably out for a
year or so before we get the benefit from it."

Donnelly said the company expects a couple more "tricky quarters"
but thinks its product line will eventually prove itself for the
company.

(Jim Mallory/19920703/Press contact: Luke Donnelly, Mentor Graphics,
503-685-7000)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00003)

Bill Limiting RBOCs Clears House Committee 07/03/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- The House Judiciary
Committee passed a watered-down version of a bill from Chairman
Jack Brooks limiting the right of Bell companies to enter the
information business.

The 24-9 vote is expected to have little impact, however, since
the White House would certainly veto the bill, and another House
committee claims jurisdiction over the matter. An 18-to-15 vote
on an amendment by New York Republican Hamilton Fish Jr. would let
the Bells apply to enter the new businesses more rapidly than
Brooks originally proposed.

H.R. 5096 would re-impose some of the restrictions from the 1982
Bell break-up decree, at least temporarily. US District Judge
Harold Greene, responding to Bush Administration pressure and a
higher court ruling, authorized entry into information services
in October. The Senate has passed a bill that would allow
manufacturing, also prohibited by the decree, but would require
high domestic content. The Brooks bill would allow the Bells to
re-enter the information services business immediately, however,
after passing a competitiveness test to the US attorney
general's satisfaction. They would have to wait five years before
providing long distance services and home security systems.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, headed by Michigan
Democrat John Dingell, will consider a less restrictive bill
offered by Louisiana Democrat Billy Tauzin later this year. That
bill would eliminate the competitive entry test, but would bar
use of customer rate payments for any new services and protect
competing services that need phone lines to do business.

All this did not stop Ameritech, the Bell company serving the
Upper Midwest, from going ballistic. John Connarn, Ameritech vice
president of federal relations, sent out a press statement saying
the message is "The public interest be damned" and claiming "The
Brooks bill remains anti-competitive, anti-consumer, anti-worker,
anti-growth and -- amazingly -- unconstitutional." Brooks, by the
way, is reportedly facing a tough re-election fight in his
Southeast Texas district.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920702/Press Contact: Ameritech, Phil Ponce,
312/750-5240)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00004)

CSC's EPA Contract To Expire Early 07/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Following months of
investigations and accusations from Congress that Computer
Science Corp. (CSC) had too close a working relationship with the
Environmental Protection Agency, CSC has been notified that the
EPA will not exercise the final two years of a $347 million,
five-year contract.

Earlier this year Rep. John D. Dingall (D-MI), chair of the House
Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight, said that he had
never before seen such dominance of an agency by a contractor.

The Department of Defense's Inspectors General investigated the
near total control of computer management at the agency by CSC
employees because Computer Science is a major DoD contractor.

There have been some questions about whether, because of the near
total control of all phases of computer operations at the EPA,
CSC might have been able to obtain details of contract bids from
competing companies.

If all five one-year options had been exercised the contract
would have been worth nearly $347 million but Computer Sciences
says that the loss of the final two years will not have a
material financial impact on the giant company.

The EPA has not given an official reason for ending the contract
early but CSC says that the agency has said that the company
performed well and was still eligible to bid on any future
contracts.

Computer Sciences Corporation came under Congressional fire
earlier this year for allegedly over-billing the Environmental
Protection Agency about $13 million for one year of a single
contract.

Arkansas' Democratic Senator David Pryor called for CSC's
suspension from government work but places most of the blame on
poor government supervision of the contractor which allows CSC to
continue doing government work.

The Washington Post's Michael Weisskopf broke the story on
February 29, reporting that the EPA's inspector general is
questioning about one-fifth of the first-year payments to CSC
under a $70 million per year, five-year contract.

The EPA internal audit, which placed a lot of the blame on the
government agency for failure to monitor the contract properly,
cited inappropriate training costs for CSC employees, $2 million
for double-billed overhead, and another $2 million billed for CSC
employees who the agency says were unqualified for their assigned
tasks.

The audit also reported that CSC billed the government for time
when the company's employees were attending retreats, picnics,
holiday celebrations, and luncheons.

Reuters is reporting that the EPA has also canceled a small $10
million CSC contract outright and has canceled the education
deficiency wavers it had previously granted to 90 CSC employees
who were not fully qualified to perform work for the EPA under
agency rules.

(John McCormick/19920702)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00005)

Clinton and Congress Call For Budget To Aid Business 07/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Governor Clinton and
Democratic Congressional leaders held a press conference on
Wednesday to announce that they would back a five-year plan to
aid high-tech development. Funding would come from new monies and
from cuts made in the defense budget.

At the press conference Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell
of Maine charged the Bush and Reagan administrations of
neglecting the US economy during the entire past decade while
Japan and Germany surged ahead of this country by investing
heavily in industrial development.

The total program would involve more than $20 billion invested in
R&D, high-tech, manufacturing, promotion of exports, and job
training.

Most of the industrial development plan was proposed earlier and
includes a Senate committee proposal to help aid defense-related
industries' transition to an economy which is no longer dominated
by military spending.

At the same time, Congress yesterday blocked continued funding
for the so-called "Competitiveness Panel," a task force headed by
Vice President Dan Quayle. The mandate of the VP's panel was to
ease burdensome environmental and workplace safety regulations
when the panel determined that they were excessively damaging to
competitiveness.

In blocking funding, the Democratic-dominated Congress said that
the group had been used to capriciously block legislative
mandates. Republicans are crying foul.

(John McCormick/19920702)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00006)

Cray CEO Says Japanese Discriminated In Contract 07/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Testifying before the
House Committee on Government Operations' Subcommittee on
Legislation and National Security, Cray Research Chairman and CEO
John A. Rollwagen said that the Japanese government recently
chose an NEC supercomputer over a Cray despite the fact that the
American supercomputer maker had offered a "technically superior"
system within the budget.

The contract in question called for an advanced supercomputer to
be installed at Japan's National Institute for Fusion Science.

The Cray system offered was a 16-processor Y-MP which the company
says is clearly superior to the quad processor NEC SX-3 which the
Japanese company offered to supply.

The Cray Y-MP has a maximum performance equal to about 10 of the
most sophisticated SX-3 models but both came in under the upper
budget limit.

Mr. Rollwagen characterized the Japanese government's decision to
go with the NEC bid as "clearly political."

(John McCormick/19920702/Press Contact: Steve Conway, Cray
Research, 612-683-7133)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00007)

SAIC Challenge of BLM Bid Rejection 07/03/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Science Applications
International has challenged the award of a major contract by the
Bureau of Land Management. Saying that the rejection of SAIC's
bid will cost the agency an additional $60 to $100 million, the
company claims that its PC-based system would have fully met
the bid requirements on a $348 million contract.

The two remaining bidders, Computer Sciences and Grumman Data
Systems, have both offered to supply workstations at a cost of
about $25,000 per station, according to Federal Computer Week.
The Everex Systems 80486 computers running Santa Cruz
Organization's Unix offered by SAIC would cost about $10,000
each.

Grumman's bid involves a combination of Hewlett-Packard
workstations and PCs, while the Computer Science contract would
provide IBM RS/6000 workstations.

What really rankles SAIC executives is that they say their bid
was rejected out of hand, without any actual evaluation of how
the much less expensive computers would perform.

The Automated Land and Minerals Records System contract would
also include the Geographic Coordinate Database, a system
repeatedly criticized by the General Accounting Office as being
far behind schedule and costing much more than was originally
budgeted.

Originally there had been eight major companies interested in the
contract, but Hughes Aircraft and TRW dropped out in the middle
of 1991 because of delays caused by a budget review conducted by
the Office of Management and Budget.

In the fall of last year two other bidders who had been pursuing
the BLM 10-year contract dropped out because of changes in the
requirements.

(John McCormick/19920702)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00008)

 ****Competition In Memory Mgt. Products Fierce 07/03/92
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Quarterdeck,
known for its memory management software Desqview, says it expects
to report black ink but lower earnings than last year. A competitor
Quadtel also announced it was lowering prices on its memory
management software products.

Quarterdeck said it expects third quarter sales to be about $12
million, up from $11.6 million in the same quarter last year.
However, earnings are expected to be down substantially to between
$.5 million to $1 million (3 to 5 cents per share) compared to $2.7
million in earnings (14 cents per share) last year.

Net sales are expected to be down $2 million compared to second
quarter net sales of $14 million, the company says. The decline is
due to a substantial drop in sales of its Desqview multitasking
software and slightly lower sales of its memory management products.

During the quarter Microsoft introduced Windows 3.1 and DOS 5.0 has
further penetrated the market. Windows 3.1 allows for multitasking
while DOS 5.0 allows users most of the memory management capability
offered previously only by add-on products like Desqview.

Therese E. Myers, Quarterdeck's president and chief executive
officer, said in a prepared statement: "We saw tremendous competitive
pressures in the quarter -- both marketing and pricing -- that
slowed sales of our Desqview and Desqview 386 multitasking
software." Myers said Desqview will "rebound" in sales "...after the
public has time to re-evaluate the benefits of Desqview...."

Quarterdeck has also placed much of its hope for the future into its
newest product, Desqview/X. Sales of Desqview/X are ramping up
slowly, a company spokesperson said, but that was expected.
Desqview/X sales in the third quarter were slightly in excess of $2
million.

Quarterdeck describes Desqview/X as a hardware and software
independent operating system compatible with the X/Windows operating
system. X/Windows was developed for workstations at MIT. Desqview/X
offers a graphical user interface, will run DOS programs and
Microsoft's Windows, and offers interoperability with other hardware
platforms, Desqview said.

Quadtel, a subsidiary of Phoenix Technologies -- the company that
makes a popular basic input/output system (BIOS) for IBM compatible
personal computers (PCs) -- announced price reductions for Qmaps and
Umbpro, two memory management software products.

Qmaps has been reduced from $99.95 to $59.95, and Umbpro was $79.95
and is now $49.95. Qmaps is a memory manager to provide extended
memory services (XMS), expanded memory services (EMS), and upper
memory block (UMB) services on 80386- and 80486-based PCs. The
company says Umbpro offers XMS services for the largest number of
80286-based PCs.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920701/Press Contact: Cecilia A. Wilkinson,
Pondel Parsons & Wilkinson for Quarterdeck, 310-207-9300; Bill
Gilliland, Quadtel, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

Germany's First Digital Phone Network Begins Operations 07/03/92
BONN, GERMANY, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- After almost a year's delay,
the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT) has announced that Germany's
first digital mobile network has begun operations. The D1
network, which works to the groupe speciale mobile (GSM)
standard, is not, however, expected to generate a profit for
three to four years.

Announcing the inauguration of the service, Klaus Hummel said
Germany's GSM network should have three million phone users
online by the end of the decade, with a total network capacity of
twice that figure.

The bad news is that the service has cost DBT heavily to get up
and running. By the end of the year, start-up costs are expected
to top the DM 5,000 million mark.

Although DBT has the GSM field all to itself this week, next
Monday will see the Mannesmann Mobilfunk GSM network -- a
privately run service -- begin operations in rivalry to DBT.
Again, the D2 network, as this second GSM service is known, is
not expected to make a profit for four years.

(Steve Gold/19920702)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00010)

Hitachi And IBM To Jointly Develop Next-Generation Printer 07/03/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Hitachi and IBM have mutually
agreed to develop next generation, or so-called "intelligent
printers" with the first product due to be produced as early as
next year.

Hitachi predicts the printer will evolve into a multimillion dollar
business.

Hitachi and IBM will produce high-end system printers, which
have enough computing power installed to control software and fonts.
The price of these printers is expected to be extremely expensive --
a single unit will cost a whopping 80 million yen ($0.6 million).

IBM has in the past made system printers, but this time will
develop advanced system printers in concert with Hitachi. In this
way, the burden of development and production costs will be
reduced.

Actual production of these printers will be shared by the
both firms. The products will be produced under IBM's brand
name and sold in the world market.

Hitachi already has a major printer maker, Hitachi Koki, under its
wing. This firm made 50 billion yen ($390 million) in sales for
fiscal 1991. It currently supplies printer parts to IBM. This past
April, Hitachi began to receive supplies of notebook-type
personal computers from IBM on an OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) basis. Inotherwords, the relationship between
Hitachi and IBM is well established.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920701/Press Contact: Hitachi, +81-3-3258-
2057)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00011)

Toshiba, Itoh Chu & Time-Warner Launch Visual Software Firm 07/03/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Toshiba and Itoh Chu have
announced that they have created a joint venture firms on visual
software in cooperation with Time-Warner, Inc.

The three companies have created two new firms in the US and
Japan based on an agreement signed in October 1991. In the US, the
joint venture firm will be based on Time-Warner's movie and cable
TV division. Time-Warner has separated these divisions and
incorporated them into a new joint venture company called
"Time-Warner Entertainment Company" which is owned 87.5 percent
by Time-Warner and the rest equally by Toshiba and Itoh Chu.
Time-Warner decides the company's management, but executives
of Toshiba and Itoh Chu will also participate in board meetings.

The three firms' joint venture in Japan is called "Time-Warner
Entertainment Japan." A 50-percent stake in this firm is owned by
Time-Warner and the rest is equally owned by Toshiba and Itoh Chu.
Yuzuru Akimoto, a former vice president of Itoh Chu, has assumed
the presidency of this firm. This Japanese joint venture will aim
to rake in 9 billion yen ($70 million) for the initial year, and
22 billion yen ($170 million) for the second year.

The US joint venture firm and the Japanese joint venture firm
are two independent firms and they have no direct relationship
as far as the capitalization is concerned.

Both US and Japanese firms will produce and market movies and
cable TV software in each territory. The cable TV business is new
to Japan.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920701/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-457-
2100)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00012)

Russian Telecom Scene Detailed In Book 07/03/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- The "Public Opinion" Foundation
has announced plans to issue a "White Book" on telecommunications --
in-depth research of the growing communications market in Russia.

A growing number of domestic and international communications
companies are actively exploring the communications scene, adding
important competition to the formerly monopolized market. The
increase in the numbers of customers is also a reason to do
such a survey, according to Alexander Oslon of the Foundation.

The four-stage research will involve in-depth interviews
with leading company executives and industry experts, and the
collection of market statistics. Current market status, user
profiles, and future growth potential are all to be covered in
detail in the White Book, which is due to be available
in the fall of 1992.

Pricing information, as well as the list of survey participants is not
yet available.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920627/Press Contact: Alexander Oslon, "Public
Opinion" Foundation, phone [phone] or 928-1840; e-mail
[e-mail])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00013)

Sony Licenses Display Tech To Mitsubishi 07/03/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Sony will license its Trinitron
Braun-tube display technology to Mitsubishi Electric which
will manufacture and sell displays, using this technology, under
its own brand name.

Mitsubishi will begin volume production of this Braun tube
display, designed for computers, next February. The firm will spend
5 billion yen ($40 million) to build a production line in Kyoto
in order to turn out 500,000 units per year. In the first year,
the firm will produce 100,000 to 150,000 units of a 21-inch type
display. Then, it will add a 17-inch display, and within three
years, the firm wants to produce 500,000 units of the display at
the plant.

Mitsubishi will sell these Trinitron displays for use with its
CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing)
workstations. Later, the firm may apply this technology
to television sets.

Mitsubishi is the first firm to get Trinitron technology
from Sony. The license fee for the technology is not publicly
known, but it is estimated to be 2 to 3 billion yen (around $25
million), according to industry sources.

Sony's Trinitron display has a good reputation among workstation
users. Sony has a 50 percent share in the market for 21-inch
workstation displays in the world market, according to the Nikkei
newspaper. It can produce a clearer screen image than that of
the current standard "shadow mask-type" display developed by RCA in
the US, says the newspaper.

Other computer firms are expected to follow Mitsubishi in licensing
Trinitron technology.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920703/Press Contact: Mitsubishi Electric,
[phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00014)

New For Unix: Sun Compilers And Tools 07/03/92
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems
has announced new versions of four SPARCompilers, together
with SPARCworks development tools, the first development
environment for the new Solaris 2.0 distributed computing
environment.

The new products utilize floating licenses which enable
customers to buy fewer copies and "float" them among a pool of
users. This provides a more cost effective method of sharing
software in line with user requirements. Previously, users had to
tie each software license to a unique system such that software
often sat idle while users completed other tasks.

This suite, developed by Sun Microsystems' business unit, SunPro,
is significantly enhanced from previous versions. Also available
is SPARCworks Professional, a package comprising a compiler and
companion tools that saves money over individual product purchases.

A significant addition to these compilers and tools is application
integration between products. This is achieved through SunSoft's
ToolTalk, which was designed for networked environments. This inter-
application communication tool is designed to speed the development
cycle and is built into the Solaris 2.0 environment, based on
System V Release 4, Unix standard.

In addition to tightly integrating the various SPARCompilers and
SPARCworks, ToolTalk will enable programmers to integrate
third-party tools into the Sun environment. ToolTalk is already
supported by companies such as Cadre, CenterLine, Digital Tools,
Frame, IDE, Interleaf, Softool, SunPro, and Visix.

SMCC is licensing new SPARCompilers for the four most common Sun
software development languages: C (ANSI and K&R C); C++ (based on the
Unix System Laboratories' de facto standard Cfront release 3.0);
FORTRAN; and Pascal (based on the Berkeley Pascal compiler with Domain
Pascal extensions for easy migration from Apollo). All have been
optimized to produce efficient code for SPARC systems.

In addition to the four SPARCompilers, SMCC is offering a new version
of SPARCworks, a set of six development tools for all SPARCompilers.
These tools not only give developers broad capabilities in the
language of their choice, but allow them to use the same toolset
across all four languages.

SPARCworks tools include:

SPARCworks Manager - a tool enabling the launching, closing,
customization and other management functions of all SPARCworks tools,
as well as third-party and in-house developed tools;

SourceBrowser - a static program analyzer that allows
programmers to get information about their code, to make intelligent
queries into the code, and to get a graphical layout of how
code functions are working;

Debugger - a tool providing new support for debugging optimized
code, as well as multi-language and very large program debugging.
The SPARCworks Debugger is integrated with other tools to speed the
edit/compile/debug cycle. It supports C++ without "name mangling;"

Performance Analyzer - a graphical performance analyzer and
optimizer that can automatically improves program performance
through paging optimization;

FileMerge - a tool designed to simplify the task of comparing and
merging source files;

MakeTool - an Open Look interface for the Unix "make" utility with
animated icons that show the status of programming builds. This tool
is designed to simplify the task of building and compiling Unix
applications.

(Brett Cameron/19920630/Press Contact: Swedee Chin, Sun, Tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00015)

Hongkong: Microsoft Summer Internships 07/03/92
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- A major computer
programming contest for teams from Hong Kong's tertiary institutes
is being supported by Microsoft with prizes and the offer of
employment during the summer vacation.

The ACM Scholastic Programming Contest, organized by the Hong Kong
chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), is due to
take place on Saturday July 4 at the Baptist College's Computing
Laboratory.

"Since the ACM competition involves some of the brightest young
prospects for the Hong Kong IT industry, we thought it appropriate
not only to give prizes but to offer career development
opportunities," said Laurie Kan, country manager of Microsoft
Hong Kong Ltd.

"We are planning to train some of the competition winners to work
within our new Product Support Services group which is due to start
operations this summer," he said. "This is the first time Microsoft
has worked with Hong Kong's academic community, so I hope it is the
start of a fruitful relationship."

As well as summer internships, Microsoft has donated four sets each
of its Programmer's Library CD-ROM, the Works for Windows integrated
business software package, and the three-volume Microsoft
Entertainment Pack.

The ACM Scholastic Programming Contest is modelled after an annual
event that the association has held in the United States since 1976.

"The aim is to exhibit the programming skills of some of the best
students in Hong Kong and to promote the exchange of ideas and
understanding," said organizing committee member Andrew Choi of the
University of Hong Kong.

The format of the contest is unusual in that, rather than being a
project-based exercise, teams of four undergraduates have to try and
solve a set of six programming problems in under four hours.

Each team has two PCs, a printer and compilers for the C and Pascal
programming languages. Scoring is done on the basis of the time taken
to finish each problem and the number of submissions of a program
before it is accepted.

This year the ACM event will be contested by teams from all seven
tertiary institutions: Baptist College, the Chinese University, the
City Polytechnic, the Hong Kong Polytechnic, the Hong Kong University
of Science & Technology, Ling Nan College and the University of Hong
Kong.

In the first running of the contest last year the University of Hong
Kong team came out as narrow winners over the second placed Chinese
University.

(Brett Cameron/19920630/Press Contact: Ramny Fite, Microsoft, tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00016)

Geac Reports Record Annual Revenue, Back In Black 07/03/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Geac Computer has
returned to profitability in fiscal 1992 with record annual
revenues of C$85.3 million, up from C$82.2 million in 1991. The
company reported net income of C$11.1 million for 1992, compared to
a loss of C$5.5 million last year.

Company spokesman Harrison Cheung noted that last year's loss
performance was a "paper loss" caused by extra charges to cover
Geac's acquisition of consulting firm Jonas & Erickson and other
transactions. Other than last year the company has been profitable
since 1987, when it emerged from a bad patch that had seen it near
bankruptcy.

While Geac has felt the effects of worldwide economic recession to
some extent, Cheung said, it has been cushioned from the worst by
its strategy of focusing on several vertical markets. While some
vertical markets are in recession in some countries, Cheung says,
other business areas are doing well. He added that library
automation, one of Geac's major lines of business, is "kind of
recession proof" since libraries' capital acquisition budgets tend
not to get cut quickly in a downturn.

In the fourth quarter, Geac reported revenues of C$23.3 million,
down slightly from C$24.2 million in the fourth quarter of 1991.
Net income rose to C$4.7 million, up from C$1.6 million in the
year-earlier quarter.

Geac operates in 10 countries in North America, Europe, and the
Pacific Rim. Most recently, the company has expanded in Australia
and New Zealand by acquiring makers of manufacturing software. Geac
shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(Grant Buckler/19920702/Press Contact: Harrison Cheung, Geac,
416-475-0525, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00017)

Two Montreal Dealers Convicted On Copyright 07/03/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Two Montreal-area
computer dealers have been convicted under the Canadian Copyright
Act for selling illegal copies of personal computer software.

Future Info, of Longeuil, Quebec, received a criminal conviction
for unlawfully selling MS-DOS 5.1, Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2.2, dBASE
III Version 1.0, and WordPerfect 5.1. The dealer was fined C$5,000.

A Plus of LaSalle received a criminal conviction for unlawfully
selling MS-DOS 5.1, Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2.0, and WordPerfect 5.1,
and was fined C$3,750.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police laid charges against the two
dealers late last year after seizing computer equipment that was
found to contain unlicensed copies of software.

Allan Reynolds, manager of the Canadian Alliance Against Software
Theft (CAAST), said the convictions show that Canada's Copyright
Law, which was revised in the late 1980s, is working. The number of
charges laid in software copyright cases has risen "dramatically"
in the past year to 18 months, Reynolds said.

Reynolds added that CAAST, a group of six major PC software
vendors, is currently investigating several major users of computer
software -- both private businesses and public agencies -- and
expects to lay civil charges of copyright infringement before the
end of the year and possibly within weeks.

(Grant Buckler/19920703/Press Contact: Jean Yves Ducharme, RCMP
Federal Investigation Section, 514-939-8307; Allan Reynolds, CAAST,
416-598-8988)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

 ****Developers Will See Windows NT Monday 07/03/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- The approximately
4,000 software developers attending Microsoft's Win32 Developers
Conference next week will get a peek at Windows NT.

Windows NT (the NT stands for New Technology) was described by Paul
Maritz, head of the Windows NT product group, as "a kind of Windows
on steroids" in an interview with British news service Reuters.

Microsoft introduced Windows version 3.1 recently, and has said it
will introduce the 32-bit Windows NT by the end of the year,
although recently executive VP, Steve Ballmer, has said the
final release date "is not set in stone." Ballmer cautioned that
Microsoft still has a lot of things to do before the product comes
to market.

According to the Reuters story, Microsoft even has plans to install
Windows-type software on fax machines, printers, and televisions.

Microsoft has said that its strategy is to make Windows attractive
enough that users will move away from competitive systems such as
IBM's OS/2 and the various versions of Unix available. Unix has
consistently had a problem interesting the business community in its
advantages, probably due to its high selling price. IBM's license
for Windows technology will run out in about a year, and as reported
by Newsbytes recently, IBM will get no special advantage from
Microsoft. Rather, it will have to buy the Windows NT technology in
the same manner as other companies if it wants to let OS/2 users
have access to Windows programs.

Maritz told Reuters that Microsoft plans to distribute copies of the
program to end users in September for final testing.

(Jim Mallory/19920603)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

EC Officials Put European Phone Call Ruling On Ice 07/03/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Telecom companies
throughout Europe have earned a small respite from the expected
plans for sweeping changes in the way they set pricing, after
European Community (EC) officials shelved plans to revamp their
telecom competition rules earlier this week.

The reason for the EC's decision to shelve plans, albeit for only
a month, was because they ran out of time to discuss planned
changes to European telecoms regulations. The Commission was
expected to announce its changes to the rulebook after a meeting
of senior commissioners on Wednesday of this week.

EC ministers, specifically the central 17-member executive, a
committee of senior statesmen from the governments of the various
member states in the European Community, have previously used
their powers to instruct EC telecom companies to open up their
markets to free market competition. This week's meeting was
planned to settle the remaining problems associated with high
phone call charges in Europe.

Ironically, the need for changes in EC telecoms market
legislation now seems to be disappearing. West Germany,
previously a no-go area for telecoms companies owing to the
market dominance of Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT), the state
telecoms company, has opened up its markets to outside companies
at an astonishing rate this past few months.

EC officials say that, because of the changes in some European
countries' telecoms markets, they are debating whether to issue a
series of strict guidelines rather than direct legislation to
abolish state monopolies.

(Steve Gold/19920703)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00020)

Britain Slams French Plans For Govt Aid To Bull 07/03/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- The British government has
condemned the European Commission (EC) for giving the green light
to a French government rescue for Bull, the troubled computer
company.

The public statement by British leaders came after the EC, as
expected, gave the thumbs up this week to French plans to give FF
6,680 million in state assistance to Bull. Michael Heseltine, the
British trade and industry secretary, warned Parliament that
Europe could be gripped by a "subsidy race," as companies
scrambled to obtain state aid.

"Aid of such magnitude is bound to have a seriously distorting
effect on competition in this sector," Heseltine said in a
prepared statement, adding that the British government was very
disappointed in the outcome of the EC investigation.

Industry analysts are not surprised by the outburst, as the
conservative government in Britain is not known for its favorable
attitude towards state subsidies. In the last decade of
conservative rule in the UK, the British government has slowly
phased out many state subsidies, particularly in the
communications and transport industries.

The rumpus comes just as Britain has assumed the presidency of
the EC for the next six months. The area of EC and state
subsidies is very delicate at the moment, Newsbytes notes, after
EC ministers voted late last month to a cap on member state
contributions to EC funds for the next two years -- some EC
officials had been looking for a 20 percent rise in member state
funding to EC coffers.

In openly criticizing the EC, the British government cited the
example of ICL, which was taken over by Fujitsu of Japan last
year, and has since restructured its business to weather the
recession. Heseltine said that this illustrates the fact that
there is no need for state subsidies in a free market.

(Steve Gold/19920703)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

 ****Shorter Version Of Newsbytes Today 07/03/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUL 3 (NB) -- Due to the
4th of July weekend, most Newsbytes reporters have taken the day off,
and only the non-US bureaus are open and filing news stories.

Consequently, today's edition will be shorter than usual.

Our regular filing quantity and schedule resumes Monday.

(Wendy Woods/19920703)